Drones are unmanned aircraft. They are either controlled by ‘pilots’ from the ground or increasingly, autonomously following a pre-programmed mission. In time, drones become smaller, faster, and better accessorised. They can fly alone or in swarms. They are not as expensive and as big as airplanes. They are easily adaptable and can be used for different purposes —from surveillance to monitoring agricultural fields, and wild-life poaching; from carrying bombs, to delivering books and pizza; from targeting and killing individuals to providing medical and first aid assistance.

The drone salon aims to provide a multidisciplinary overview of challenges, opportunities and speculations on future transitions caused by the use of drone technology both in the battlefield and in the civic realm. This seminar is punctuated by short presentations and longer conversations between Malkit Shoshan, Ethel Baraona Pohl and experts in the field: lawyers, activists, civic and military drone operators, artists, writers and designers. The seminar is part of ‘Drones and Honeycombs’, a long term research project by Malkit Shoshan for Het Nieuwe Instituut.

It is also part of a series of public events and a publishing project titled Unmanned. On the spatial and ethical implications of drones. The latter is a collaboration of dpr-barcelona, Studio-X, FAST, Het Nieuwe Instituut, and The Center for The Study of The Drone.